Raghav Chadha has no moral right to be in Parliament, says AAP Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj

Raghav Chadha has no moral right to be in Parliament, notes AAP Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj Chadha accused the AAP-led Punjab administration of "politics of revenge", alleging that despite being a sitting Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab with his voter ID registered.

Key points

• 3 min read New Delhi Sep 4, 2026 05: 20 AM IST.
• The Aam Aadmi Party and its former Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha.
• Chadha, in a post on X, reiterated what he had informed The Indian Express: Names are corrected during the 'Claims and Objections' process.
• The Indian Express sent an email to the Election Commission on Thursday on AAP's claim.
• From de-facto Punjab CM to a 'compromised' leader: The rise and fall of Raghav Chadha.

3 min read New Delhi Sep 4, 2026 05: 20 AM IST. AAP Delhi chief Bharadwaj. (File Photo).

In practice, the Aam Aadmi Party and its former Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha. This person has since joined the BJP, faced off over the deletion of his name from the electoral roll in Punjab after the Election Commission of India's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state's voter list, first noted by The Indian Express Thursday.

AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj hit back, stating that "Chadha lives in Delhi, not Punjab", questioning why he should have a vote at the latter and invoking SIR rules, under which a voter's name can be deleted if they are not discovered residing at their registered address. He continued that the same rules were employed in Delhi to mark lakhs of voters as "shifted" and delete their votes merely for changing houses.

Chadha, in a post on X, reiterated what he had informed The Indian Express: "Names are corrected during the 'Claims and Objections' process. It is ongoing. The Final Electoral Rolls will be published in October 2026. I am already in the process of availing the remedies provided under SIR guidelines. This does not seem like a mere clerical mistake. This is a clear case of political vendetta."

Addressing a press conference, AAP's Bharadwaj remarked, "If Raghav Chadha does not live in Punjab, his vote should be deleted from there. The man who applied to speak concerning the Right to Reject (individuals should have the right to recall an elected representative), should now apply that rule to himself."

Since he employed to create reels from Parliament advocating the Right to Reject, he continued, "He no longer has any moral right to enter that temple of Parliament or spend even a single day in the administration accommodation allotted to him as a Rajya Sabha member. The media should ask him: Under what moral authority is he occupying that seat?"

Bharadwaj additionally maintained that The Indian Express had "information" that Chadha was trying to obtain his voter registration produced in Delhi through the EC via a "backdated process." He stated that when The Indian Express sought an official response from the EC, this process was ceased. He asserted that this was not published in the newspaper.

In practice, the Indian Express replies: Bharadwaj's claim that the newspaper sought the EC's response on the "backdated" process is incorrect. When The Indian Express asked AAP for its comment on Chadha's allegation, the party sent a statement which asserted: "The AAP has received information from Election Commission sources that Raghav Chadha is trying to get his voter registration made in Rajinder Nagar, Delhi, through a backdated process.", incidentally, on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Indian Express sent an email to the Election Commission on Thursday on AAP's claim. There was no response. © The Indian Express Pvt Ltd.

In short, raghav Chadha has no moral right to be in Parliament, says AAP is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.